Eastern Mediterranean

Russian tourist numbers to Turkey skyrocket in January but foreign arrivals keep declining

The number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey soared 81.5 percent in January compared to the same month of 2016, although foreign arrivals to the country continued to decline, official data has showed. 

According to preliminary data released by the Tourism Ministry on Feb. 28, some 40,124 Russians visited Turkey in January. 

Turkish dramas focus of interest in Latin America

Turkey has exceeded $100,000 million in return from Turkish TV drama exports in recent years, and is now getting ready to collaborate with Latin American countries to enhance the industry, daily Hürriyet has reported.  

The Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) has been in efforts to mobilize and increase the contribution of Turkish dramas to tourism and trade. 

Turkish construction firms search for new foreign markets after year of loss

Turkey's construction firms have clinched record-high deals abroad and obtained considerable know-how and experience in realizing top-tier projects. Thanks to such crucial projects, Turkish construction firms recently ranked second on the list of national companies undertaking construction projects abroad, just behind Chinese companies. 

Turkey asks Israel to ease security warnings for tourists

Turkey's Culture and Tourism Minister Nabi Avcı has requested Israel to downgrade the security warning it issued for Turkey, noting that the country was ready to provide security reports. 

Avcı met his Israeli counterpart Yariv Levin on Feb. 7, becoming the first member of the Turkish cabinet to visit Israel since 2010. 

Turkey's foreign trade deficit down around 12 pct in 2016

Turkey's foreign trade deficit declined to $56 billion last year amid low oil prices and a slowdown in economic activity.        

The country's foreign trade deficit in 2016 decreased by 11.7 percent from previous year's $63.3 billion total, provisional data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) showed on Jan. 31.  

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